Multi-car vehicles are known in different designs and in different forms of adaptation for uses. Multi-car vehicles, for example, railway-bound trains (streetcars and subway-trains also being considered as such trains) are known and are known for the purpose of transporting passengers as well as transporting goods. Further types of multi-car vehicles can be magnetic railway-trains or can be busses (road busses as well as busses traveling on fixed tracks). A car of a multi-car vehicle can be a self-supporting car, whereby the car has sufficient wheels that are placed at sufficient locations such that the car can stand by itself without being supported by other cars, for example, a three-wheeled car, a four-wheeled car or a car with even more wheels placed at suitable locations. A car of a multi-car vehicle can also be of the non-self-supporting type, whereby the car has no wheels or only wheels provided in such number or arranged at such a place that the car cannot stand by itself, but is vertically supported by at least one neighboring car.
To form the multi-car vehicles, the individual cars of the vehicle are connected to one another by means of a connecting device. The connecting device can be provided for different types of purposes. In multi-car vehicles where only one or only several of the total of cars is driven, the connecting devices are provided so that the driven car can drive the non-driven car and thus ensures that the complete vehicle travels with the same speed. Connecting devices are also distinguished between those connecting devices that allow for an easy decoupling of the cars, whereby easy decoupling is understood to be accomplished within a couple of minutes, or for what is called “semi-permanent” coupling of cars, for which decoupling of the cars takes efforts and usually involves the vehicle to have been transported to a specific workshop. Trains, for example, can have coupler-heads as a part of their connecting devices. These coupler-heads can, for example, be so-called “automatic couplers” that allow decoupling within minutes.
From EP 1 719 684 a bearing bracket (called “Lagerbock” in EP 1 719 684 B1) of a central buffer coupling is known that is suitable to connect a coupler rod (“Kupplungsschaft” in EP 1 719 684 B1) to a car. The coupler rod is arranged to pass through a housing and is connecting to said housing by elastic members arranged at the outside of the coupling rod and held inside the housing. The housing is connected to a bracket by means of a top-pivot pin and a bottom-pivot pin that allow the housing to swivel relative to the bracket about a vertical swivel axis. Arranged between the housing and the top-swivel pin and the bottom-swivel pin are shear-off elements. If the coupling rod is pushed along its longitudinal axis with a pushing force of a predetermined magnitude, the shear-off elements will set the housing free with respect to the bracket and will allow the coupling rod and the housing to move relative to the bracket in unison. The design known from EP 1 719 684 B1 is disadvantageous, because of the work necessary to make the known bearing bracket fit for further use after the shear-off elements have sheared off.
Form EP 1 312 527 B1 an articulated arrangement for a multi-car vehicle is known that comprises a first articulated arm and a second articulated arm, which cooperate in an articulated manner by means of a bearing. An energy dissipating member is integrated into one of the articulated arms. This articulation is achieved by giving the respective joint arm a basic body with horizontal and vertical flanges arranged at this basic body. A profile 9 that forms part of the joint arm is arranged to glide along guides arranged inside the basic body. Also arranged inside the basic body is a deformation tube that is held at one end by a pressure plate that closes the hollow space inside the basic body, in which the deformation tube and the profile are arranged. The deformation tube on its other side is held by the profile. The basic body, the pressure plate, the deformation tube and the profile jointly form the articulated arm. The unit of pieces that is thus created is connected to the car as one unit and held to the car by means of the flanges of the basic body. The design known from EP 1 312 527 B1 is disadvantageous because the basic body has a substantial longitudinal extent, the main portion of which is arranged below the car. This makes it necessary for the car builder to provide room in this area of the car, which takes up the basic body and the elements of the articulated arm arranged inside the basic body.
From EP 1 925 523 B1 a bearing bracket is known that has a vertically extending swivel pin arranged to pass through an eye arranged in a coupling rod and thereby forming a spherical bearing. The eye in the coupling rod is larger than the diameter of the swivel pin. The space created is filled with an elastic material that allows the coupling rod to move in a longitudinal direction relative to the swivel pin. The use of the elastic material pretensions the coupling rod into a predetermined, normal position relative to the swivel pin. The bracket is provided with vertical contact faces, one above the horizontal plane that contains the center line of the coupling rod, one below the horizontal plane that contains the center line of the coupling rod. The coupling rod also is provided with vertical contact surfaces, one surface above the horizontal plane that contains the center line of the coupling rod and one surface arranged below the horizontal plane that contains the center line of the coupling rod. In the normal state and defined by the elastic properties of the material arranged in the eye in the coupling rod, the contact surfaces of the bracket and the coupling rod are arranged to face each other but are distanced apart. If the coupling rod is moved by a predetermined force that overcomes the resilience of the elastic material arranged in the eye, the coupling rod is pushed towards the bracket in such a manner that the contact surfaces of the bracket come into contact with the contact surfaces of the coupling rod. This arrangement limits the distance that the coupling rod can move relative to the bracket. Also the use of contact surfaces above and below the horizontal plane that contains the center line of the coupling rod provides a stabilizing function that returns the coupling rod into a horizontal alignment in cases, where the coupling rod at the time of being pushed towards the bracket is not arranged in a horizontal alignment. In such a case, the contact surface of the coupling rod arranged on the one side of the horizontal plane that contains the center line will contact its counterpart contact surface of the bracket earlier. Continuous application of a force along the longitudinal axis of the coupling rod will then lead to a return-moment that will return the coupling rod into the horizontal alignment. EP 1 925 523 B1 describes as further embodiment the placement of a deformation tube as part of the coupling rod. The deformation tube is of such a design that it will only start to take up energy, once the contact surfaces have made contact. The design known from EP 1 925 523 B1 is disadvantageous, because the resilience of the elastic material works to move the surfaces out of contact and thus works against the stabilizing effect.
Based on this background the problem to be solved by the invention is to suggest a bearing bracket, an assembly containing such a bearing bracket and a system containing such an assembly as well as multi-car vehicle that does away with at least one of the disadvantages of the above cited prior art.
This problem is solved by embodiments of the assembly, the bearing bracket, the system and the multi-car vehicle described in the description following hereafter.
The basic idea of the bearing bracket according to the invention is to make use of the stabilizing effect that the interaction of a surface arranged on the coupler rod or connection rod with a surface of the bearing bracket can have, if they are brought into contact with each other upon the application of a pushing force of a predetermined strength. According to the invention, this stabilizing effect can be used in a driving condition, where a group of parts of the bearing bracket is purposefully set free to move relative to the bracket, if a pushing force of a predetermined strength is applied to the coupler rod or connection rod. Such driving conditions occur, for example, if the movement of the group of parts is used to deform an energy absorbing element placed behind the bearing bracket.